Dr. Tess Carpenter, 38, doesn't generally go for attention-getting style. She says her 6-foot height brings her all the notice she needs.
"I have four colors that I wear: black, gray, brown and white. And maybe some ivory, sometimes. If you go into my closet, that's the extent of what you'll see. Navy blue on a really crazy day," said the Greenspring Valley resident.
But the Sheppard Pratt Cares for Kids Benefit was an exception.
"Our program is actually being recognized tonight. So I felt it was important to play the part of the 70s disco," said the clinical psychologist who is the clinical director of The Berkeley & Eleanor Mann Residential Treatment Center & School at Sheppard Pratt, which she describes as "a long-term facility for kids who need a higher level of care."
So she went online to find something someone might have worn to Studio 54 and came across a Halston-like number on etsy.com. She had to have it custom-made to fit her 6-foot-frame plus the 5 inches added by the platforms she found just for the party.
Good thing that particular 70s look didn't require loads of chains. Carpenter admits an antipathy for wearing jewelry — something this therapist attributes to her past.
"When I was a teenager, I went tubing one time on the Gunpowder [River]. I didn't really realize that when you're in cold water, your fingers shrink," she said. "And I lost a spoon ring that my grandma had made me that was very meaningful to me. Ever since that day, jewelry just wasn't the same for me, because I realized that you could lose it. I just didn't want to wear something that I could lose."
HER STYLE: "Ignorant. Hesitant. Cautious. Classic. I wear things today that I could probably wear in five years and not look out of style, in some way — like cardigans, cowl neck tank tops, sleeveless shirts and classic tailored pants. And I'm always in flats. I probably have eight different pairs of black flats."
HER ENSEMBLE: Black jersey one-shoulder batwing maxi dress custom-made from baylisandknight.com. Dolce Vita black suede strappy 5-inch cork wedge sandals from Nordstrom Rack. White faux fur evening bag from Z Gallerie in Baton Rouge, La.
FIRST-EVER PROFESSIONAL MAKEUP EXPERIENCE: "I am also — surprise, surprise — not a big makeup wearer. The extent of my routine is an eyelash curler and mascara. And that's about it. Ever. Really. I saw that I probably needed to do something for my face for this party, so Jennifer Grimes from facecharmer.com came to the house to do my makeup. I never wear lipstick, so she had to give me the one I'm wearing tonight."
WHAT SHE IS PASSIONATE ABOUT: "I'm passionate about making a difference. I'm passionate about fixing things. I'm passionate about the before and after of things — not myself, but other things. I'm passionate about my family; Drew [fiancé Dr. Drew Pate, Sheppard Pratt psychiatrist and Beacon Health Options consultant] and [his] boys. I'm passionate about being present in life."